Chapter 099 Chapter 99
The Star Path 101 finals stage was different from previous performances, featuring a boldly redesigned stage. As Zhou Xiao and his companions passed through security and prepared to enter the studio from one of the entrances, they noticed a theater-like stage next to the entrance, now firmly obscured by a thick curtain.
Several people looked forward along the obscured stage. A bisecting platform divided the audience pool into two parts, forming an I-shaped stage layout. As they approached the main stage, the straight path transformed into a crown-shaped platform, resembling the Star Path 101.
Zhou Xiao and his companions followed the audience queuing in front of them to enter the venue and came to the front. They could see dozens of transparent crystal chairs placed in the hollow crown stage, with rose-pink name tags faintly placed on them.
Zhou Xiao, who was standing at the edge of the stage, curiously picked up her camera and took a picture, hoping to see the words clearly. After she finished taking the picture, Qi Sisi and others around her also leaned over to take a look with the same curiosity.
"Wow, it's the trainees' agency!" Li Mo, who was nestled on Zhou Xiao's shoulder, said as he looked at one of the more obvious company names. This was the agency that trainee Xu Zhou worked for - Jiale Media.
"By the way, should we stand in front of the extension stage?" Dong Xiaoyu suddenly spoke as she looked at the edge of the stage where she and the others were standing.
Zhu Jian, standing nearby, seemed to have grasped something. He clapped Dong Xiaoyu's shoulder approvingly, then hurried towards the crown-shaped stage, pulling someone with him. He gratefully explained to everyone as they walked, "The stage is probably for the trainees' individual performances. Xiaoyu's right. If we stand right up front, we'll only be able to see behind us!"
Zhou Xiao, who was being pulled forward by Zhu Jian and walking quickly, also saw the two large jibs appearing above the crown-shaped extension platform. The audience who originally occupied the front row like them seemed to realize something at this time and moved closer to the front of the crown-shaped extension platform.
"Huh!" Qi Sisi breathed a sigh of relief after successfully reaching her desired seat. Suddenly, as if she had caught sight of something, she pointed to the chairs to the left and right of the main stage. "Whose seats are those?"
When they were at the front, they were so focused on the stage layout that they subconsciously ignored the chairs on either side. Only when they reached the edge of the extended stage did they get a more complete view of the stage layout.
"The more seats should be for the eliminated trainees, and the fewer seats should be for the mentors," Zhu Jian looked at the chairs and turned around to say to Qi Sisi. Having followed foreign talent shows, she immediately knew who the seats belonged to.
As the few chatted, curious about the new venue's layout, the studio gradually filled up. As the competition drew closer, a sense of anxiety began to fill the air. Seeing that the finals hadn't even begun yet, many people lowered their heads and hurried to vote.
As a result, a very consistent scene appeared in the venue. The audience all lowered their heads and voted by pressing the screens of their mobile phones... Zhou Xiao, who had been lowering his head to vote, looked up and relaxed while the network was buffering. With so many people in the studio, the signal was obviously bound to be a little stuck.
When Zhou Xiao looked up, he saw a group of business people coming up from the backstage and into the crown-shaped area. There were both men and women, all dressed in suits and ties, looking like CEOs.
One of the middle-aged men who was walking down the stairs to take a seat seemed to notice Zhou Xiao's gaze across from him. A seemingly amiable smile appeared on his originally serious face. He nodded at her and quickly sat down in the first row.
…
"Attention! The Star 101 finals are about to begin. There are a large number of laser devices on the stage. Audience members, please shoot safely while protecting your cameras!" After waiting for a long time, the loudspeaker in the studio suddenly sounded, informing the audience below the stage of precautions.
"Countdown to the finals - five, four, three, two, one." As soon as the director team finished speaking, the lights in the entire studio dimmed instantly, and it was pitch black all around.
Suddenly, a spotlight shone onto the main stage. Star Path 101's founder, Zhou Quanli, dressed in a sharp white suit, smiled brightly at the camera on the jib, standing tall and proud at the center of the stage. The faint glow of Star Path 101's crown also began to appear on the main stage's floor lighting, illuminating the moment Zhou Quanli spoke.
"Good evening to all the producers here and before the live broadcast! Tonight, nine trainees, chosen by all of you, will debut as a group..."
Zhou Quanli on the stage was introducing the voting rules in a calm and confident manner. The audience below the stage, namely the trainees' fans, had no intention of listening to the content at this moment. Instead, their fingers were so busy voting that sparks were about to fly.
Zhou Xiao herself was among those voting in the audience. She didn't know why, but she had initially been very confident in Ji Shao and his co-voters. But when Zhou Quanli on stage began to emphasize the rules, her hand, holding her phone to vote, began to tremble slightly. At that moment, a voice in her head kept emphasizing: "The more votes I cast, the more I can help Ji Shao!"
…
"Thanks to the careful judging and voting of every producer on site and before the live broadcast, these 22 trainees were able to meet you all. Thank you for your support. The final theme song stage for the trainees of Star Path 101 begins now—"
As soon as the words fell, the theme song of Star 101 played, and the lights around the crown extension stage all lit up. Zhou Xiao, who happened to be in the audience, was so dazzled by the super bright stage lights that she couldn't help but close her eyes. At this moment, she suddenly remembered what the production team had said earlier. No wonder they had given her a heads-up...
At this time, the 22 trainees standing on the Crown Stage, wearing Star Path 101 uniforms, began their stage performance of the last theme song in the Star Path 101 competition with the music.
Zhou Xiao held up the camera and locked onto Ji Shao, the center of the stage. His stretched limbs and strong balance created a visual feast, leading the trainees behind him to fully perform on stage.
After the first climax, the main stage behind the trainees lit up. The trainees' enthusiasm erupted once again, and the audience cheered enthusiastically upon seeing the people on stage.
The people on the main stage are the trainees who were eliminated in the early stages of Star 101. Now they are performing a complete theme song stage on the back stage with the 22 people in the front.
"I want to ride the wind——" At the climax of the second performance, streamers "exploded" from the top of the stage into the venue, and the trainees enjoyed the stage at the moment to their heart's content and wantonly amidst the flying streamers.
In Zhou Xiao's camera, Ji Shao's hair was dyed lavender, and streamers from the air were floating down onto his microphone. At that moment, Ji Shao seemed to have caught Zhou Xiao's eye, turned his face towards the camera, and blew the streamers from his lips towards every sincere love that was shouting for him from the audience.
The Ji Shao fans in the audience had already been bewitched by the sound of the whistle. Just as the performance ended and the trainees were about to leave, they heard a hoarse male voice from the back, "Ji-Shao-I! Love! You-"
Perhaps it was the microphone near the stage that immediately carried the sound throughout the studio. Ji Shao on the stage was visibly stunned, but he quickly stepped back, a smile plastered on his face, and bowed to the audience.
The audience was amused by this unexpected incident. After seeing Ji Shao's gentlemanly manner on stage, the previously calm audience suddenly erupted in excitement. The excited shouting from the audience forced the program director to immediately stop the show and command the trainees to leave the backstage area quickly through the headset.
Zhou Quanli watched the trainees pass by with a look of satisfaction on her face. After everyone left the stage, she returned to center stage at the director's signal. She smiled and asked, "Are the live producers and the pre-live crew satisfied with the performance by all the Star Path 101 trainees?"
“Ahhhhhh”, “Satisfied”, “…” The lively noise from the audience was so loud that even Zhou Xiao, who was sitting in the audience, could hardly hear clearly what everyone was shouting, but it was obvious that the effect was quite enthusiastic and satisfied the program crew.
At this moment, Zhou Quanli's expression on the stage suddenly became serious. "The voting rules for this round have been emphasized to the national producers before the show started. Now, I will announce the list of trainees ranked 9th to 12th so far—"
The sudden release of the rankings left the audience breathless. Zhou Quanli, observing the audience with a hint of wicked amusement, slowly began, "The voting for the Star 101 finals was conducted under the supervision of two notaries, Lin Ting and Wu Huilin, from the Shanghai Huashang District Notary Office!" The camera shifted to the two notaries, who had been sitting and now stood up, waving at the camera.
"As of 7:10, the ninth-ranked trainee is Xu Zhou..." As the rankings of the trainees who secured their spots were announced one by one, the atmosphere at the scene changed again and again. Zhu Jian, who was standing by, explained to Zhou Xiao, "Oh, it's time to encourage people to vote!"
Talent shows often feature several vote-encouraging sessions during the finals. When their favorite trainees appear on the list, it's a powerful tool for already-obsessed fans to motivate them to buy tickets. Some trainees make it to the debut spot, while others unfortunately lose out, so the timing of the vote-encouraging process is crucial.
After the list of seats was announced, the group name was revealed. "Are you curious about the debut group name for these nine trainees?" Zhou Quanli leaned slightly to the side, motioning everyone to look at the big screen, and then spoke, "The final debut group name for Star 101 is NINE STAR, symbolizing the nine young men shining like stars. We wish them a bright future!"
When the group name was announced, the audience in the audience applauded cooperatively, and felt that the debut name of Star 101 was barely in line with the public's aesthetic taste.
"The final debut evaluation stage is about to begin. The 22 trainees will be divided into two groups and perform on stage separately. So, are you curious about who will be the center of each group?"
“Ji Shao!!!”, “C position Ji Shao ah ah ah”, “Chu Cheng”, “Ji Shao”, “…” The volume of Ji Shao’s fans at the scene overwhelmed the audience, and soon the audience formed a uniform voice of shouting Ji Shao’s name.
Zhou Quanli on the stage raised his eyebrows slightly and looked towards the instructors' seats on the right side of the stage. "During the practice period, do our instructors have any ideas about the best candidate for the C position?"
The screen switched from Zhou Quanli to the instructors' booth. Vocal instructor Jiang Zhijuan took the microphone from the staff and said with a smile, "In my mind, the C position must be someone who can play a leading role, who must be the backbone of the team, and who must make the stage the most dazzling presence because of their killing part." He paused and laughed, "As for my choice of C position, please watch the trainees' performances next!"
Jiang Zhijuan was clearly pleased with the upcoming center position. While he wasn't as sharp-tongued as dance instructor Tao Zui, those who had been following the competition knew that Jiang Zhijuan was a man with a hidden edge. He was known for his strict approach to the trainees, which made the audience excited for his high praise and eager for his upcoming performance.
"Since Instructor Jiang has said so," Zhou Quanli took the microphone, "Next, let's invite the first group of trainees to perform their debut collaboration review stage - 'Chasing the Wind'."
As soon as he finished speaking, the lights on the stage dimmed completely and everything returned to silence.
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